Frieda: A New Australian

A New Australian

by Marianne Musgrove

Frieda, a (mostly) obedient girl from Heidelberg, travels across the seas with her adventurous father and sickly mother to live in Adelaide, South Australia. There she embarks on a mission to make some friends. But when World War One breaks out, the Germans, once considered friends of Australia are now the Enemy. Rumours circulate that Frieda’s father is a German spy. Meanwhile, the local children form the Junior Anti-Hun League. Should Frieda change her name and hide all trace of her culture? Or will her new friends stand by her?

289 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Rosanne Hawke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frieda: A New Australian by Marianne Musgrove, Omnibus Books 2016
This novel in the ‘A New Australian’ series for middle grade is a delight as well as informative. Did we all know about the concentration camp on Torrens Island in South Australia for Germans, even second or third generation, during WW1? Many were also incarcerated during WW2. This is the first children’s book I’ve seen dealing with this event. The setting for Frieda is 1914 Unley and how interesting it is to walk those streets as they were. The impeccable research is tucked safely under the surface and doesn’t interfere once with Frieda’s story. The well-paced plot has tension, bitter moments and sweet, interspersed with quotes from Goethe and Lutheran beliefs. Top that up with Marianne Musgrove’s assured writing and you’re in for a treat.
After immigrating to Australia, Frieda endures prejudice, bullying and her father taken away. But Frieda is strong: she finds the courage to be her true self and fights back. Not in revenge, she is her father’s daughter after all. She finds a special way to remember her father and others which brings together a community.
Frieda’s father is a hopeful, wise man who Frieda loves very much. His attitude is summed up in Goethe: ‘Every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture and if possible, speak a few sensible words’. To me his favourite Goethe saying echoes throughout the book in the choices Frieda makes, the way she grows and how her story made me feel: ‘Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.’
This is an important book for German history in Australia and I hope every school buys class sets. Themes include immigration, displacement, belonging, prejudice, resilience, forgiveness and hope.
PS: Marianne wrote in her inscription on my copy that Frieda and Kerenza* would have been friends. I think that’s true and maybe there’s another story…
*Kerenza: A new Australian

[Duncan Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story gives a convincing and moving sense of what it's like to be first a migrant in a strange land and then an 'enemy alien' just because of the bad-luck of a war starting far away. Frieda battles with bullies carried away by war-fever and the loss of her father to an internment camp, with her own home becoming more and more insecure. The culture, language and history are blended well so the reader learns without feeling lectured and having heard the story of the adult camp in a recent ABC documentary, it was interesting to hear about the lives of those left behind. Anyone who has had to move and start a new school will identify with Frieda's story and her strength in dealing with the problems will inspire as well.

[St Stephen's C C]

Frieda, her mother and father arrive in Australia to look for a better life.
Her father is to open a pharmacy with Frieda's uncle and they will live over the shop.
But as the First World War takes hold, the family is devastated by the internment of Papi and Onkel Heinz as enemy aliens, and Frieda has her own battles to fight on the streets with local children.
But others are kind and Frieda keeps her grandmother's advice to stay strong in the face of all these trials and eventually triumphs.